It’s about crime

The Albemarle County Police Department released its annual crime report for 2017 in June, and while we already published some of the most striking statistics, here’s what else caught our eye.

Between the years of 2016 and 2017, crimes rates increased in all but one category. The largest increases were in homicide and forcible rape, whose rates increased by a whopping 500 percent and 93 percent, respectively. The exception was robbery, which decreased by more than 50 percent.

1,805 larcenies, 1.4 percent increase

1,305 property crimes, 2.3 percent increase

146 breaking and enterings, 0.7 percent increase

74 stolen motor vehicles, 21.3 percent increase

37 aggravated assaults, 9 percent increase

27 forcible rapes, 93 percent increase

10 robberies, 52 percent decrease

6 homicides, 500 percent increase

Disorderly conduct was the most common call for service.

Disorderly Conduct: 1,223 calls

Mental Health: 575 calls

Noise Complaint: 560 calls

Drug Offenses: 529 calls

Trespassing: 427 calls

Vandalism: 403 calls

Domestic Assault: 321 calls

Shots Fired: 273 calls

DUI: 174 calls

DIP: 163 calls

Littering: 12 calls

The report’s demographic breakdown found that whites make up two-thirds of the arrests in the county.

White: 66.2 percent

Black: 32.3 percent

Asian or Pacific Islander: 0.8 percent

Unknown: 0.7 percent

American Indian or Alaskan Native: 0.1 percent

Suicide stats

The county crime report included a new section for mental health. In 2017, Albemarle County Police received 575 mental-health-related calls, a 7 percent increase from the previous year. In 2015, there was a record 24 percent increase from the previous year. Deaths by suicide have decreased slightly over the past half-decade.

2013

Attempted: 18

Completed: 12

2014

Attempted: 17

Completed: 13

2015

Attempted: 10

Completed: 15

2016

Attempted: 18

Completed: 6

2017

Attempted: 11

Completed: 11

We’ve been duped

A human figure wrapped in cloth, tightly bound at the neck and feet and dumped at the McIntire Recycling Center over the weekend gave recyclers a scare—until police responded to the scene and cut the cloth to reveal a mannequin. Police are still investigating the body bamboozle.

WillowTree makes moves

Governor Ralph Northam dropped by August 27 to announce that WillowTree will invest approximately $20 million in an expansion and relocation to the old Woolen Mills factory, which will create more than 200 jobs. The new location will allow the 276-employee company to grow to 500, and the move is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

Coach gets caught

A Monticello High School assistant football and girls’ basketball coach has been placed on administrative leave following his August 24 arrest for allegedly sending “inappropriate electronic communications” to a juvenile. George “Trae” Payne III is also a teacher’s aide at the school.

Change of venue

Attorneys for James Fields say he won’t be able to get a fair trial this November in the same town where he allegedly rammed his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of anti-racist activists, killing one of them and injuring many. They’ve asked to move his three-week, first-degree murder trial elsewhere, or bring in out-of-town jurors. A judge is expected to rule on the motion August 30.

Like a high school paper

Liberty University now requires its student newspaper, the Liberty Champion, to get approval from two to three administrators before publishing a story. Bruce Kirk, the school’s communications dean, told student reporters their job was to protect Liberty’s reputation and image, according to a story in the World magazine.

Heaphy’s new job

Tim Heaphy. Photo by Eze Amos

Former U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy, a current Hunton & Williams partner who was hired to conduct the controversial independent review of how the city managed last year’s white supremacist events, will now have another notch on his resume. When UVA Counsel Roscoe Roberts retires at the end of the month, Heaphy, a UVA School of Law alumni, will take his place.

Quote of the week:

“We ain’t mad at you Spike Lee. We just want you to do the right thing.” —Unnamed young people in an open letter to Spike Lee, saying he used their images from the August 12 attack in his movie, BlacKkKlansman, without permission. They want him to donate $219,000 to fight white supremacy.

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Our comments system is designed to foster a lively debate of ideas, offer a forum for the exchange of ad hoc information, and solicit honest, respectful feedback about the work we do. We’re glad you’re participating. Here are a few simple rules to follow, which should be relatively straightforward.
1) Don’t call people names or accuse them of things you cannot support.
2) Don’t direct foul language, racial slurs, or offensive terms at other commenters or our staff.
3) Don’t use the discussion on our site for commercial (or shameless personal) promotion.
We reserve the right to remove posts and ban commenters who violate any of the rules listed above, or the spirit of the discussion. We’re trying to create a safe space for a wide range of people to express themselves, and we believe that goal can only be achieved through thoughtful, sensitive editorial control.
If you have questions or comments about our policies or about a specific post, please send an e-mail to editor@c-ville.com.

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